The combination of the filmmaker's short film and ancillary texts like film reviews and posters were important to tie them together and make the short film have more impact. The texts provided context about the build up and aftermath of the film. Key symbols like a clock were featured in both the film and poster to represent the main theme of time. Consistent visual elements and a plain backdrop in both the film and texts kept the focus on the protagonist and his story. Similar colors and effects were used in both to connect the pieces.

1. How important is the
combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?

2. The combination of my main product and ancillary texts were
important as the synergy between the two tie them together and make
the short film have more of an impact for the audience. It does this by
putting the actual short film side by side with ancillary texts such as
film reviews and posters, this lets the audience see both the final
product and the build up and aftermath of the film too.

3. The opening and ending shot of my short film is a slow motion close up
shot of a coo-coo clock, this symbolises the slow passing of time and
life in general and the progression of life over time. I also used an still
image of the same clock shot for my poster, this was to show the
audience the main focus point of the short film which is time, this is
symbolised by the clock and represents time for everyone all over the
world.

4. Whilst the protagonist is speaking about his life I used the mise en
scene in order to keep the focus on him and his voice, I did this by
making the backdrop plain and boring in order for the focus to be
placed on the protagonist. This was similarly done with my ancillary
texts as I wanted the focus on something specific instead of the
audience being distracted by something in the background. To do this I
made a poster involving solely a clock, this keeps the focus on the
clock, another example of this is in the review where I included a still
picture of the protagonist on his chair with a bland backdrop, again
keeping the focus on the protagonist.

5. I also used similar colours and effects in my main product as in my
ancillary texts, I added vignette masks and blurs on the clock at the
beginning and end of the short film, I also used these effects for
moments when the protagonist is speaking and I added a smaller
image overlay on the video when he said specific parts of his speech.
An example of this is when he speaks about his fathers death I added a
smaller image of his headstone as an overlay whilst he still speaks.